M Chandran , S K Bhadada , P R Ebeling , N L Gilchrist ^, A H Khan , P Halbout , S Lekamwasam , G Lyubomirsky , P J Mitchell , T V Nguyen , K L Tiu , Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis.

Osteoporos Int. 2020 Jun 19. doi: 10.1007/s00198-020-05495-w.

“The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step” (“「千里之行, 始於足下」”).

It is a real challenge to address the numerous issues facing osteoporosis management in the vast and diverse expanse of land that is the Asia Pacific. APCO brings together experts in Osteoporosis, in an apolitical and non-partisanal manner to address this challenge. One of the key gaps that we identified in osteoporosis care in the Asia Pacific is that clinical guidelines relating to osteoporosis in the region are either unavailable and if they are, are heterogenous in terms of their scope and recommendations made and, a significant proportion of current national guidelines are not current, having been published more than 10 years ago. There is also a paucity of information on adherence with national guidelines in day-to-day clinical practice across the region. Therefore, APCO’s first project is to develop and implement a Pan-Asia Pacific framework (“The Framework”) that provides clinical standards for the screening, diagnosis, and management of osteoporosis in groups at high risk of fracture.

We invite you to read this article co-authored by members of the APCO EXCO, that has just been published online in the journal Osteoporosis International;  an international multi-disciplinary journal which is a joint initiative between the International Osteoporosis Foundation and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA .

The article provides a succinct overview of the vision and mission of APCO, how it was set up, as well as the process by which “The Framework” is being developed.

The principles underlying the formation and functioning of APCO could potentially be adopted by other regions in the world. It is hoped that each facility and progressively each country will follow our aspirational path towards best practice, ultimately making osteoporosis a national, regional, and international health priority to avert the “perfect storm” that is brewing.